单选题 This leaves us with the challenge of finding some politically practicable way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But it is an awkward truth that when most U.S. senators were asked informally in 2000 if they would support the Kyoto Protocol should President George W. Bush send it to the Senate for ratification , the overwhelming majority, Democrats as well as Republicans, said they could not. The reason for the liberals"surprising reply is clear. Many studies, not all by conservatives, suggest that full compliance with the terms of the Kyoto Protocol would likely lead to a deep American recession. For those willing to Fun this risk, sober reflection on the consequences of the economic collapse of 1929 and the subsequent worldwide depression with all its political and ultimately military consequences is certainly in order.
That said, what can be done, in particular by our own country? Independent of the issues raised by the Kyoto Protocol, and given the weight of evidence that the problem of global warming is serious and fraught with dire consequences, failure to do anything at all and instead to promote "business as usual" is downright criminal.
Yet the Bush administration has given no more than lip service to the problem, though that could be changing. It is one thing to weigh alternatives and implement compromises that reflect the complexity of the problem; it is quite another thing to do nothing, especially if doing nothing is just a way of securing support from certain industries that worsen the problem.
There are, after all, things that can be done. Reopening a serious international dialogue, and not just saying a few good words, would be a useful if inadequate start. Not every problem must be solved before the weight of evidence becomes so compelling that certain initial steps become almost mandatory. We already know how to make more fuel-efficient automobiles, yet no national policy has surfaced to accomplish this. The scientific and engineering communities are the ones best suited to identify the scientific research that is still needed and the technical projects that show the greatest promise. These issues should be decided by them and not the politicians. Once solutions look promising, as a few already do, industry will be all too ready to jump in, for at that stage there is money to be made. And only a fool would underestimate human ingenuity when given a proper incentive, or the strength of American industry once the boiler is lit under it.

单选题 The word "ratification" underlined in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.

单选题 What can be inferred about the Kyoto Protocol from Paragraph 1?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 文中第一段的“This leaves us with the challenge of finding some politically practicable way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”中出现了温室气体排放，紧接第二句话用转折的语气出现了《京都议定书》，由此可知，《京都议定书》肯定和环境有关系，所以A项“它是关于环境保护的”符合题意。B项“它被大多数的议员支持”，这和文中内容相反；C项“大多数议员认为它是棘手的”，文中说“一切正常”，所以棘手不符合文意；D项“它被大部分的美国参议员正式地拒绝了”，文中说的是如果提交到参议院，会被大部分的参议员拒绝，这是一种假设，不是事实，所以这三项都不正确。

单选题 The word "compliance" underlined in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.

单选题 Many studies suggest that full agreement with the Kyoto Protocol would run the risk of ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第一段的内容“Many studies, not all by conservatives, suggest that full conpliance with the terms of the Kyoto Protocol would likely lead to a deep American recession.”可知，一些研究显示，完全同意《京都议定书》的条款，很可能会导致美国经济衰退，后面提到1929年美国经济危机，所以C项“将重新经历美国过去的苦难”符合题意。A项“成为战争恶梦的牺牲品”，B项“激怒其他国家”，D项“激发全国的愤怒”，文中主要强调对美国经济的影响，所以这三项都不符合题意。

单选题 We can learn from Paragraph 2 that ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第二段的内容“and given the weight of evidence that the problem of global warming is serious and fraught with dire consequences, failure to do anything at all and instead to promote "business as usual" is downright criminal.”可知，全球变暖已经是一个很严重的问题，如果我们对此不做任何事，那就是犯罪，不采取任何措施来解决这个问题是不正确的。所以A项“必须采取措施去处理全球变暖问题”符合题意。B项“处理全球变暖最好的办法就是让它顺其自然”，顺其自然是一些人的观点，但不是解决全球变暖问题的方法；C项“全球变暖的严重性已经被夸大了”，全球变暖问题是个很严重的问题，这是事实，并没有夸大；D项“一切正常的倡议必须被进一步强调”，这不应该被强调，这个观点应该被推翻，所以这三项都不符合题意。

单选题 The word "dire" underlined in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.

单选题 The Bush administration ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第三段的内容“Yet the Bush administration has given no more than lip service to the problem.”可知，布什政府对《京都议定书》倡导的保护环境问题没有采取任何实际行动，所以B项“布什政府应对全球变暖没有采取任何措施”符合题意。A项“在日益恶化的全球变暖中给予了帮助”，和文中内容相反；C项“已经向全球变暖妥协”，D项“已经得到很多工业的支持去阻止全球变暖”，C、D两项在文中没有提到。

单选题 The author suggests all of the following measures EXCEPT ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第三段的内容“Not every problem must be solved before the weight of evidence becomes so compelling that certain initial steps become almost mandatory.”可知，B项“在采取措施之前，并不需要解决好所有的问题”符合题意。A项“重新开展严肃的国际对话”，C项“开展相关的科学研究”，D项“做最有前途的技术项目”，这三个措施在最后一段中都有相互对应的内容，所以本题只能选B。

单选题 The word "downright" underlined in Paragraph 2 refers to ______.

单选题 In the last paragraph, the expression "once the boiler is lit under it" most probably means "when American industry is ______."

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第三段的内容“And only a fool would underestimate human ingenuity when given a proper incentive, or the strength of American industry once the boiler is lit under it.”可知，当给与适当刺激，只有傻瓜才会低估人类的心灵手巧，一旦获得动力，美国企业的力量不容低估。所以D项“刺激，激励”符合题意。A项“暗中破坏，逐渐削弱；侵蚀……的基础”，B项“提升，使升级”，C项“激怒”，这三项和文中once the boiler is lit under it要表达的意思不符合。